Across the country, states routinely take children’s Social Security, disability, and survivor benefits. Those benefits are the child’s property. Our reforms stop agencies from taking children’s resources and instead require that they be preserved in trust for the child’s future.
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Why July 4th marks a new era of independence for youth aging out of foster care
History does not always arrive with fanfare. Sometimes it arrives softly and humbly, and only in hindsight does the landmark moment become clear. That is how it came last week, when First Lady Melania Trump announced Fostering the Future Accounts, a new path to savings accounts for children in foster care. When the broader Trump [...]
My View: Gov. Hobbs must protect and preserve foster children’s survivor benefits
Read as we advocate for a bill currently in the Arizona Legislature that would stop the Arizona Department of Child Services from taking survivor benefits from the state's foster children. So far, House Bill 2559, has received strong bipartisan support.
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Model Reforms
On behalf of the Center for the Rights of Abused Children (Center), I write in support of AB 1512 (Bryan). This critical initiative protects and preserves federal benefits that belong to the child by requiring counties to properly screen for eligibility, apply for the benefits on behalf of the child, and direct, spend, and conserve [...]
The proposed policy seeks to conserve and maximize a child’s federal benefits within applicable asset limitations and to ensure those benefits are used exclusively for the individual unmet needs and best interests of the child. Letter of Support-NY Economic Justice for Kids in Foster Care
The Problem Under federal law, many foster children are owed survivor benefits (including social security and veterans benefits) if their parents died, or if they have a disability (social security income). Many states apply for foster children’s benefits as the “representative payee” (often without the youth or their attorneys knowing) and then use those benefits to [...]